Said Ali al-Shihri

Sa'id Ali Jabir Al Khathim Al Shihri
Said Ali Al Shiri in 2009.
Born1971 (1971)[1]
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Died2013(2013-00-00) (aged 41–42)
Yemen
NationalitySaudi
Other namesSaid Ali al-Shihri
Known forFormer Deputy Emir of AQAP
Military career
Allegiance al-Qaeda (1990's–2013)
Service / branch AQAP
(2009–2013)
Years of service1990's–2013
RankDeputy Emir of AQAP
Battles / warsYemen Insurgency

Sa'id Ali Jabir Al Khathim Al Shihri (1971–2013) was a Saudi Arabian deputy leader of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and possibly involved in the kidnappings and murders of foreigners in Yemen.[2][3] Said Ali al-Shihri was captured at the Durand Line, in December 2001, and was one of the first detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba, arriving on 21 January 2002.[2][4][5][6] He was held in extrajudicial detention in American custody for almost six years.[2][3][7] Following his repatriation to Saudi custody he was enrolled in a rehabilitation and reintegration program. Following his release, he traveled to Yemen.

In January 2009, Al-Shihri appeared in a YouTube video, with three other men, announcing the founding of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.[7]

On 24 December 2009, it was reported that he may have been killed in an air strike in Yemen. But on 19 January 2010, Yemen security authorities reported they had captured him. On 22 February 2010, the Yemen Post reported that the release of an audio recording, after the reports of his death, or capture, confirmed he was at large.[8] Yemen officials reported he was killed by a drone strike on 10 September 2012.[9] Six days later, a Yemeni official told the London-based daily Asharq Al-Awsat that DNA tests reportedly determined he was not killed in the drone strike.[10]

On 20 September 2012, sources close to AQAP told the Yemen Observer that al-Shihri was not killed in the strike. Yemeni officials also told the same newspaper that contrary to what Asharq Al-Aswat reported, no DNA tests had yet been taken and that the United States had requested that the Yemeni government wait until an American team of examiners could administer the DNA tests on the corpses of the men killed in the drone strike.[11]

On 21 October 2012, al-Shihri released an audio tape confirming that he was not killed in the drone strike.[12][13][14] On 22 January 2013, it was reported that al-Shihri had died of wounds from a drone strike in late 2012.[15][16]

On 17 July 2013, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula confirmed that he had been killed in a U.S. drone strike instead of succumbing to wounds.[17][18] In August 2014, the group revealed in a video that the drone strike that killed Shihri took place in 2013 and that he had survived the 2012 drone strike but was severely wounded.[19]

  1. ^ "AQAP releases first installment of 'Journey of Jihad' video series | FDD's Long War Journal". 23 March 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "Report: Ex-Gitmo detainee joins al-Qaida in Yemen". Associated Press. 23 January 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2009.
  3. ^ a b Worth, Robert F. (22 January 2009). "Freed by U.S., Saudi Becomes a Qaeda Chief". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
  4. ^ "List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Retrieved 15 May 2006. Works related to List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through 15 May 2006 at Wikisource
  5. ^ JTF-GTMO (16 March 2006). "Heights, weights, and in-processing dates". Department of Defense. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 25 December 2008.
  6. ^ JTF-GTMO (16 March 2007). "Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: ISNs 323-494" (PDF). Department of Defense. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2009. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
  7. ^ a b Gregory D. Johnsen (24 July 2012). "A Profile of AQAP's Upper Echelon". Combating Terrorism Center. Archived from the original on 21 June 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2013. As the deputy commander and highest-ranking Saudi in AQAP, al-Shihri played a key role in recruiting other Saudis and fundraising in the kingdom. In late 2009, a cell phone video of al-Shihri surfaced in which he made a plea for money from wealthy Saudi donors. In an effort to avoid detection the video never left the phone on which it was recorded. Instead, an AQAP courier traveled throughout Saudi Arabia showing the video message to different individuals.
  8. ^ "Saeed Al-Shihri, prisoner No. 327 at Guantanamo bay: No. 2 of Al-Qaeda Organization ... Guantanamo: creating the most dangerous enemies of America". Yemen Post. 22 February 2010. Archived from the original on 27 March 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  9. ^ "Yemen 'kills key al-Qaeda leader Said al-Shihri'". BBC News. 10 September 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  10. ^ "Yemeni Al-Qaeda leader still alive- Source Asharq Alawsat Newspaper (English)". Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  11. ^ "Yemen Qaeda:second man alive, US asks Yemen delay DNA test". Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  12. ^ "International News: Latest Headlines, Video and Photographs from Around the World -- People, Places, Crisis, Conflict, Culture, Change, Analysis and Trends". ABC News. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  13. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  14. ^ "Al Qaeda No. 2 in Yemen denies reports of his death: audio". Reuters. 22 October 2012.
  15. ^ "Leading al-Qaeda operative said killed in Yemen". The Times of Israel. 22 January 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference alshirde54 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Editorial, Reuters (17 July 2013). "Arabian al Qaeda's number two confirmed dead - AQAP". Reuters. Retrieved 21 April 2018. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  18. ^ "Al-Qaida branch says No. 2 leader killed in Yemen". Yahoo News. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  19. ^ "Search Results for "journey of jihad"". jihadology.net. Retrieved 21 April 2018.